Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Here We Go

I'm supposed to be doing a chapter-by-chapter outline of the new novel, but over the past week I have written three and a bit chapters instead. So much for discipline. I hoped to prove that I could map out new territory and pick my route before setting off, but as usual I'm discovering where I need to go by going there, at the rate of roughly 1500 words a day. Every writer has their own walking pace; this appears to be mine. Meanwhile, the cow parsley is frothing in unattended corners of the parks and graveyards of North London, and the horse chestnuts are candling. Spring is moving in the air, and in the earth below*, and in what I hope will be another book, better than the last. Always hope for a new and better destination, when you set out.

1 Comments:

Nothing much is frothing or candling at the moment in this part of Canada - but snow is melting, birds are coming back, and the good morning sky is ever brighter. Winter teaches patience. That said, I could use another of your books to read in front of the fire, so keep those fingers on that keyboard.

I first met your work in a beaten up copy of Gardens of the Sun, left on the mantle of a hotel in Umbria. I left the book I had just finished (Ian Macdonald's River of Gods) and dove into the Quiet War, and soon after, into the other worlds you have built so beautifully.

About Me

I'm a full-time author of more than twenty books, including novels, short story collections and a film monograph. ﻿I've also published reviews and pieces of journalism in magazines and newspapers.I live in North London.
My latest novel is Something Coming Through.
Some of my fiction and nonfiction is archived on my web site.
If you would like to contact me, details are here.